59 thoughts on “Jane Collins – the serious campaign starts”

Keeping the NHS free at the point of delivery, readers need to fully understand what this actually means, UKIP along with the Conservatives and the Labour party all sprout the same mantra.

It means that the provider, a private for profit company will employ staff on the minimum wage, poor cleaning and taking risks to ensure shareholders dividends are paid on time.

The only reason why the private sector are interested in health is for their fat profit margins, take a look at what Labour did with PFI, I do know that the Conservatives started PFI, however it was Labour that took PFI to a new level.

Do not trust any of the main stream parties with the NHS, maybe the SNP may just save the NHS.

A question for Ms Collins, will you stop private companies from providing NHS services?

Anon, I don’t know about double speak, I think you are speaking from your backside. When you talk about private companies working for the NHS, take a look at the Barlborough Unit for Orthopaedic operations. It is, without doubt the CLEANEST hospital in the area bar non! It provides far BETTER FOOD than any NHS hospital in the area and provides TOP QUALITY medical care and operations. They are contracted by the NHS to help relieve the NHS workload in this field of medicine. It cannot be faulted so your comments on poor cleaning and taking risks applies only to the system you endorse, an NHS run by the Unions. I know where I would rather have my hip replacement operation and it isn’t Rotherham or Sheffield.

Anon – see my longer comment below, she is more than a “supporter”, she is or at least was an active participant for many years.
It doesn’t stop her campaigning against Bull fighting though but perhaps that’s only because it is somehow EU funded and fox hunting isn’t:http://www.jane-collins.org/news22102014_1.html .

“All three parties in Westminster are run by people who became MPs by working on the office of MPs. They don’t share our values or do what they promise”. It could be said that Collins became an MEP because of her long association with Godfrey Bloom MEP, for whom she worked as election agent. As for doing what she promises, I’m still waiting for a reply to my email of 31 August. Her assistant James Pawlowski replied on 1 September explaining that Collins was engaged on parliamentary business but would reply as soon as possible. I’m still waiting!

I don’t know much about who funds the MEP’s offices, is it the EU ? If so should he be taking a role supporting them in the coming parliamentary election?
Ah, found this:
“The European Parliament makes available the sum of €21,209 per month towards the cost of an MEP employing staff.”
“MEPs currently receive an office costs allowance known as “general expenditure” of €4299 per month…. ”
A bit less than £220,000 pa total for each of the two MEPs.

Yes Jane ran a business with Katy Bloom. That means she is not a career-politician. Since when was running your own business a bad thing? I am very angry at the anti-Jane Collins sentiments on this page when we don’t know her. Lets give her the benefit of the doubt. It is clear she is not a careerist and is just an ordinary person trying to make change for Rotherham people.

So when Collins was taking part in foxhunting on horseback was it against the law? No it wasn’t so what’s the problem?

What about someone who is a smoker before it was illegal and smoked in pubs? Does that make them a bad person? No it doesn’t so what’s the problem?

Foxhunting will always be a passionate subject for both sides and I won’t comment on the cruelty aspects or the exaggerated argument from both sides but it seems to me that people who raise this issue in relation to Collins want to use it to attack her.

If she was to jump on a horse now and hunt foxes, I think people would have good reason to complain and criticise her for it as its NOW illegal. If she gets on a horse and goes drag hunting (i.e. not a live fox) so what, that’s not illegal.

Hi TB – I was simply trying to present the facts.
“Fox hunting” is legal today as long as the hunts obey the law. The law changed 18 February 2005 . I do not, nor ever would suggest that our MEP has broken the law.

My personal opinion:
Ms Collins was involved in this “sport” before the change in the law, at a time when it could well be considered a “blood sport”,
I therefore find it hypocritical on her part to campaign against bull fighting – another “blood sport”.
_________________
I regularly read in the press that both UKIP and the Tories wish to remove the current legal restriction on foxhunting. I would personally wish the restrictions to be tightened, I also oppose the Tories on Badger Culling.
RR

As I said, both sides of the foxhunting argument are passionate and people tend to fall in the pro or anti camp. Those who are anti foxhunting tend to call it a blood sport, those pro foxhunting tend to call it a field sport. Personally, having worked in the countryside for a long, long time I can see both sides but people should be aware there are false hoods, lies and hypocrisy on both sides of the argument (and no, I’m not linked to a hunt, hunting or anti hunting)!

I understand your view that it could be seen as hypercritical but maybe Collins has had a change of heart and decided all such sports are cruel? Who knows, I don’t but if I ever meet here, I might be inclined to ask.

(As an aside, the real cruelty was not carried out by people on horse back but by ‘hunt followers’, the Terriermen, who’s job is was to find all fox earths, block them up and make sure a fox was available for the day of the hunt. I have seen unspeakable cruelty to foxes, dogs, badgers, cats and other animals by these people, far worse than from the people on horse back).

As for the Badger cull, that is arguably more cruel and damaging than foxhunting and I find it hypocritical that any Government would allow one but ban the other! I’m just glad the cull doesn’t apply in Rotherham, we’ve only just recovered from years of persecution and loss of habitat in this area. I’m glad you oppose the Tories on Badger culling but were you aware it was a Labour Government in 1975 that started the policy of gassing Badgers to reduce the incidences of TB in cattle? It was a Tory Government that stopped it in 1982.

The B.

PS, I’m going to get told off by Rothpol now for not talking about local politics!

TB
Thanks for your insight on this.
I’ve been a serious amateur photographer of wildlife for some 40 years, and it’s now the main use of my retirement. I need the countryside!
I hadn’t been aware that it was Labour that first introduced badger culling, but what really got to me with the current Tory/NFU thing, is that all the science said it wasn’t going to work, and they still went ahead!
(Off topic: I was always content to have foxes living at the bottom of my garden in SW London, that is, until one year the cubs found and started digging up the Stag Beetle larvae that also lived there….. So the Fox Project had to come in.. and London Wildlife … we all have our priorities.). .

I am torn on this one and perhaps have a bit of sympathy with Ms Collins here. Let me explain:

I have never supported fox hunting with hounds, I always thought it was unnecessarily cruel and not that effective as a means of vermin control. I have never supported Bullfighting, it is totally unnecessary and extremely cruel. But I am a keen Angler and have been since my Dad first took me when I was just a young lad.

Now there are many people who consider angling to be utterly barbaric, and they consider it to be a bloodsport just like fox hunting, deer hunting, bullfighting etc. and would like to see it banned. One day they might get their way, and if they do I will mourn but I will have to live with it. But I would still be against bullfighting. Does that make me a hypocrite? I suppose it must.

Hence my sympathy with Ms Collins. Her favourite pastime (which to the best of my knowledge never received EU funding, but that’s besides the point) has been banned because it was deemed cruel to animals, yet the EU is giving financial support to an industry (in part with British taxpayers money) that passes off animal cruelty as a spectator sport. It could be said that she is doing her job by highlighting that fact.

Another thing to consider is this:

The fox hunting ban was introduced by the Labour party – the same Labour party that fully supports the EU – which supports Bullfighting. Strange world innit?

R. Wilde
I have no problem with Angling, as long as anglers take their trash away with them, and the vast majority do. I had always assumed that the idea that those who were anti-fox hunting with anti-angling was something put out by the Countryside Alliance.

I want UK to remain in the EU and I’ve only ever voted Labour twice in my life and I don’t support Bullfighting.
___________
I am having problems locating the actual voting on the budget amendment that Ms Collins describes here: http://www.jane-collins.org/news22102014_1.html
It doesn’t appear to show up on http://www.votewatch.eu/ . I’d love to know if a UK MEP of any party did support it.

I’ve got a question for her. She claims to come from a traditional mining family. Now, all “traditional” mining families supported the Great Miners Strike in 84/85, so how can she support UKIP’s policy on being tougher on unions?

David
This is what her bio says on it at http://www.ukip-ynl.org/meps.html
“Jane’s family moved to the Selby area in 1985 when the Selby coalfield went into production, as Jane’s Father was involved in mining. They bought a stable yard at Willitoft and when Jane returned to Yorkshire, the family ran the yard together”.
Read it as you will.

Don’t get that. The Selby coal field went into production in the 60’s. Kellingley was on strike through out the fight to save jobs and communities in 84/85. Is someone telling porkies?
By the way, Al Murray, the comedian, has formed a new party to fight Thannet where Farage is hoping to con the electorate. The Party is called the Freedom United Kingdom Party – FUKP. Farage is off his head with rage. Local Kippers think the similar acronyms will cause confusion with voters; you know, getting the joke party mixed up with the other.
I can see the problem.

Dave, where the hell do you get that “All ‘traditional’ mining families supported the great miners strike in 84/85”? I know many “traditional” mining families who wanted to work but where stopped from doing so by Scargill and his organised thugs. There were many Derbyshire miners who did work throughout the strike and because of the disgraceful behaviour of the striking miners, their lives were hell after the strike. If you are still daft enough to think that Scargill was a decent, honest man then you are even more stupid than I think you are! He was the man responsible for the closure of the mines and he alone.

Don’t speak to Annons usually -they hide behind their anonymity- but if you can tell me one pit that Scargill closed I would be most interested. The people that worked through the strike aren’t working now, neither are their sons and daughters. I am working at the last working pit in Notts. Thorseby, (shuts shortly). They all wish they’d followed the NUM and Scargill now, and they openly tell me so. None left in Derbyshire either. Keep taking the tablets!

Caven
1. The discussion here is about Jane Collins leaflet and its contents and her well documented history of fox hunting.
2. When Sarah Champion’s leaflet is published we can discuss that.
3. What 3rd party documentary evidence do you have regarding Ms Champion riding horses? Any evidence that she ever went fox hunting ?
4. Many people ride recreationally in my rural Rotherham neck of the woods, there are more horses than people round here. But I can’t image any of them wanting fox hunting back.

RR. Fox hunting on horses was never a particularly popular activity in Rotherham over the last 80 years so its unlikely many of the local horse riding fraternity would want it back as it was never really something they did anyway.

On the other hand, Fox hunting with terriers by a couple of terriermen on foot was and still is, popular in Rotherham.

Ho one more thing Jane at least puts out a leaflet stating what she stands for
Have I missed Sarah’s written commitments or is it the Advertiser that she uses every week as her campaign literature I hope she declares this on her election expenses ??

Caven, I’m not totally certain about this, but I did understand that sitting MPs will not be putting out campaign literature before the dissolution of Parliament on 30 March 2015. Unlike UKIP MEPs they do have a day job to do.
You could check on that. Why don’t you.
.

Before everyone gets too excited about fox hunting, i.e. hunting them with dogs which was made illegal by Tony’ Blair’s Government, we should ask how many animals were used in laboratory experiments between 1997 and 2010. I do not recall the same level of opposition from Labour’s anti-hunting MPs to the latter practice.

I always laugh when I see the different parties arguing over the privatisation of the NHS. Just for the record, All your Doctors Surgeries are run as private business, whenever you visit hospital for a blood test, that`s put out to a private business. Private businesses operate inside our Hospitals, (shops, which pay rent) Most of the cleaning is done by Private business, all the dry cleaning of bed linen is done by private companies, and all supplies are provided by private businesses.
So the call to stop privatisation is pretty stupid really, without the input of private companies, the NHS would/could not exist.

“All your Doctors Surgeries are run as private business”, and I assume you know why. It was one of the compromises that Bevan had to make to get the NHS off the ground.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/nhs_at_50/special_report/119803.stm – just a quick linky I found, it is far better to read Foot’s two volume biography of Nye.
(I’m old enough to remember when there was no NHS).

All the other examples you give are examples of “creeping privatisation” into the NHS. With proper investment in the service they an just as easily be replaced by in-house services. Privatisation of services was rolled into the NHS over a period of time, and they can always be rolled out.
** An appointment with my old GP in Belgium cost less than an appointment with my haircutter, and I always saw him same day. Any idea of the relative costs of a haircut and a private GP appointment in UK?

Badger says Fox Hunting on horse back is not particularly popular in the Rotherham area. Really? I went to a gathering only a couple of weeks ago in the Rotherham area and was surprised how many people attended just to view the spectacle.
Fox Hunting was banned on the whim of a vociferous minority who are the really dangerous people and who damage our countryside. These same minority are the ones who say that fishing is barbaric even though fishing is THE most popular sport in the whole of the country. They are just mindless people who have nothing better to do.
Some Labour voters wanted the ban because they thought it was the sport of the wealthy.WRONG!!
If Jane Collins supports fox hunting, she gets my vote!! By the way, I am well over 70 and couldn’t ride a horse if I tried.

I don’t think any of what you have written is confirmed by this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_Act_2004 .
Regarding angling: My understanding is that it was the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance who put out the story that those who were against fox hunting were also against angling.

I can remember in the early to mid 80s there were a number of assaults on anglers by the anti bloodsports lot, particularly the Hunt Saboteurs Association. This pre dates the Countryside Alliances formation by well over a decade. The stories were well covered in the angling press at the time, but the MSM largely ignored it.

The situation today certainly isn’t as bad as it was then. As you can see from the above links, they no longer advocate physical attacks on anglers but their view of angling hasn’t changed and they use other methods of disruption now.

Regarding the what Anonymous said above:

“If Jane Collins supports fox hunting, she gets my vote!!”

Really? You’d vote for someone to represent you in Parliament based solely on their stance on fox hunting? Incredible. What about the economy? Tax? Tax dodgers? The NHS? Education? Unemployment? Criminal Justice? All a bit more pressing than the ban on fox hunting, don’t you think? But it’s your choice Anonymous, you have the right to vote for whoever you want, based on whatever issues matter to you the most. If fox hunting is at the top of your list, so be it 🙂

Anonymous, If you read my post properly and quote it properly you will see I said:

“Fox hunting on horses was never a particularly popular activity in Rotherham over the last 80 years”

I never mentioned the Rotherham area but Rotherham itself. There are hunts around Derbyshire, West Yorkshire and in South Yorkshire and of course the Wentworth Hunt as mentioned by RR (although much of their activity is towards Barnsley)

The gathering you went to a few weeks ago wasn’t in Rotherham was it? So before you try to disprove my information, please get your own information right!

As I said, fox hunting on horses hasn’t been particularly popular in Rotherham for a long time.

Rik, My comment was nothing more than an illustration of hypocrisy …Fox hunting in this case is used to discredit Jane Collins. Selective outrage on the part of some bloggers was my point…. Hypocrisy is alive and well on this site and the censorship of my comments is a clear illustration of that.

Your comments are always welcome on political matters but not on matters of private conscience which would have served as a massive diversion as every point of view would appear, the floodgates would have opened. Not hypocrisy, but respect!

Thanks Rik…. I acknowledge you don’t want to turn this site into a discussion on………… at this important time before Rotherham elections. That’s fair…. I appreciate being able to provoke some thought on how we are good at selective outrage and to be able to expose it for what it is….Thanks

Al Murray’s FUKP has a very similar acronym to UKIP and voters might be confused between the proper party and the joke party. I’m confused already – Which one of them is the joke party?
THIS IS BANTER!!!!
Ps: Imho anyone who needs to kill dumb animals as a past time, whether fox or fowl, has not got the aptitude to run the country. They need their ‘eads seeing to, mate! Try scrabble…

Interesting that Collins’ leaflet says she’s supporting small business. Pity it doesn’t appear to be Rotherham business. I suspect a number of local printers would have been glad of the work had she decided to use a local printer rather than an Essex firm to produce her leaflets!

I hear she’s holding a hustings-type event next Monday between 12 and 2pm at the Silverwood Miners Welfare (Bag Inn). Perhaps she’ll enlighten us as to what she’s done for Rotherham?

No I haven’t (not that I’m a Labour spokesperson) but do the authors of those Labour leaflets to which you refer purport to support small business. I know that for some reason you feel the need to comment on almost every post I make but I’m sure even you have to acknowledge the irony in Collins’ claim.

I feel I have to help you out here Robin … it is not has you say the “Bag Inn” but it was known locally as the “Baggin” Explanation here http://johndoxey.100freemb.com/Silverwood/welfareclub.htm Thought you might have known this …… unless it was a so called tongue in cheek attempt at humour that keeps popping up on these threads.

I’m not sure that totally true. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere it was a throwback to the old days when money was given in a ‘bag’ to be shared by a small group of men who would then go to the ‘Bag Inn’ to share out the proceeds of the bag.

I’m sure that the phrase pre dates the 1960’s and was from the very early days of pits, I’ll try and find the reference for it.

Almost forgot the last labour leaflet I received through my letterbox says on it at the bottom …. Promoted by Iain McNicol General secretary the labour party ,on behalf of the labour party ,both at One Brewers Green ,London SW1H ORH, printed by Anton Group , Anton House, Christy Way Laindon , Essex SS15 6TR.

Sarah Champion’s latest bit of Campaign literature the ‘Sorry I missed you’ Card which got posted through my door when clearly shouldn’t have as I have Garden boards, door and Window posters that state ‘I am voting UKIP in May No more Leaflets thanks’.

The Leaflet States on back. ‘Sorry We didn’t meet. I called to talk about how we can get a better deal for Rotherham, this is laughable the Imprint on the bottom says ‘Printed by A McLay and company Ltd, Longwood Drive, Forest Farm, Cardiff CF14 7ZB.
That’s a great deal for Rotherham so wish I was in now, but there’s lots of UKIP Campaigning to do.